


I Knew Him

by anti_ela



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, Kid Fic, Pre-Movie(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-14
Updated: 2014-09-13
Packaged: 2018-02-17 07:49:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2302094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anti_ela/pseuds/anti_ela
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time they met, it was 1927 and Steve was the new kid in the neighborhood. Between then and now, they each did a lot of living—sometimes together, but often apart. And now, well, it's 2014, and neither really knows where to start.</p><p>So why not try the beginning?</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Knew Him

 

Bucky didn't mind fighting bullies when he thought he'd win. The other kids might be bigger, tougher, but their dads didn't teach them how to fight dirty. Their dads didn't show them how to shoot pistols when they were six, or rifles when they were ten. Their dads didn't wake them up at five a.m. for calisthenics.

They were soft on the inside, no matter what they looked like on the outside. Bucky could tell with a look if a bully would mess with him again after Buck gave him a bloody nose. (He had found that winning in these situations didn't matter so much; he could bust his lap and black his eye, but as long as he got one solid hit it was usually over.)

For the rest of it, the neighborhood gang had figured out a system: two fights a year between all the kids, tournament-style. See who could beat who, where they stood, and then nothing for another six months. Nobody had to prove anything because everybody knew what you had. Civilized, they thought. Gentlemanly, even.

Bucky was never top of the list, but he was never too far away.

So when Steve Rogers moved into his building, it was only natural that Buck would show him the ropes. Steve was only nine to Buck's ten, after all, plus the kid was scrawny and sick-looking. He needed somebody to look after him. Bucky met with the number one and number two fighters in the gang, and they decided Steve could skip the process if Steve would agree he came in last.

When Buck gave Steve the good news, though, he got the first hint that this kid was a little touched. The kid stuck out his jaw, puffed out his chest, and said he'd earn whatever place he got the right way. The others shrugged and set up a game with one of the neighbor girls, Tammy, who scared all of 'em just a little bit. Since she'd been threatening to tell their moms if they didn't let her try, Bucky's superiors thought it'd get both problems off their backs.

Buck would've been insulted, but Steve nodded gravely and held out his hand to Tammy, who turned her head and spat. Steve just grinned, though, like he'd decided just then she was terrific.

The fight was nasty. Steve was all elbows and edges, but Tammy was a wildcat. It didn't last too long, and nobody was too surprised when Tammy was victorious. But when Steve pushed himself up, wiped the blood off his mouth, and smiled at her with red teeth? That was unexpected.

"That was great," he told her, and this time she really did shake on it.

Most guys Bucky knew would've called foul or pretended they let her win, but it was a lot cooler this way. So when the other guys tried to say Steve was last and Tammy was next to, end of, Buck called 'em all chickens and reminded them of who could knock them on their backs. They quieted down, then turned to Buck's superiors.

They were the oldest kids in the gang at eleven and twelve (nearly thirteen), respectively, so they had an air of mystique in addition to their higher ranks. They looked at Tammy thoughtfully, exchanged looks, then turned as one to Steve.

"She was holding back," he said. "I bet she'd clean these guys up and teach 'em a thing or two."

As it turned out, she did. In fact, she was so good that Buck was the first one to beat her. Having a girl in their gang would've been enough, but that she was their fourth meant they got a lot more attention than they used to. Their general got a lot more challenges (the idea being that if a general beat a general, that gang got the candy store or the ice cream parlor for a week or whatever the terms were), but so did Tammy, which was odd 'cause below third rank didn't normally get outer-gang challenges. They stopped, though, when her record stayed two wins per loss.

And through it all, Steve cheered her on.

Buck figured out pretty quick that he wanted Steve to cheer him on, too.

One day, Bucky told Steve they were gonna be best friends from now on, and Steve didn't seem to mind. Bucky nodded, glad Steve approved of his promotion, and told him to come over and listen to his favorite show after school. When Steve said okay, Buck added, looking at Steve's wrists, that his dad almost always had milk in the icebox so they could probably have a snack, too.

Next day, Bucky made a point of finding Steve when class was over and gave the other boy one of his books to carry, "for training." When Steve accepted it but still looked puzzled, Bucky let him know that he was real lucky because Buck was gonna whip him into shape. Steve nodded, accepting this mission, too, but it wasn't too long in their walk home that Bucky told Steve it was time for Bucky's training and took everything. "Don't wanna overdo it too soon, you know," but really it was because Steve looked kinda bad.

No point in having a new best friend if you just kill 'em the next day.

When they got home, Bucky went to his door, but Steve asked Buck to hold on a minute and dashed inside his own apartment. Bucky glanced inside, all curious, but then ducked his head down and looked at his shoes. Buck had just started fidgeting when Steve came out again holding a pad and a couple pencils.

That done, Bucky brought Steve inside and showed him around. Neither of them had much money, but Bucky's dad was a soldier while Steve's mom was a nurse. The difference in a couple dollars a week wouldn't have been much to Silent Cal, but between two boys it could've meant a lot. With Steve's apartment still decorated in boxes and Steve's shoes more cardboard than leather and Steve's hems rolled up and all his clothes a little too loose, well... It could've been something.

But all Steve said was, "I'm glad you have a radio. Ours got busted last year."

Bucky blushed anyway.

Soon enough, they were listening to "Coast to Coast on a Bus," and Bucky looked over halfway through to see a lot of white bunnies hopping around on Steve's paper. "Holy cow," he said, which made Steve look up.

"Huh?"

"Can I see that?"

He held out his hand, and Steve pushed the paper over. Bucky poured over each rabbit. Each of 'em had the right number of ears and legs, and one of them even had whiskers.

"You're good. Real good. I bet you're the best drawer I know."

Steve accepted the paper back, and it looked like it was his turn to blush. "Well, it's not like they have drawing tournaments around here."

Bucky rolled his eyes. "Psh. You think I'm gonna get anywhere punching people? Nah, you're gonna be on the cover of Life, and I'll just be that guy saying I used to know you."

"Used to?"

Bucky blinked at Steve's tone. "Well, yeah. You're gonna wise up eventually. Why not when you're a crazy success?"

Steve was quiet a few minutes, then said, "You're the first person who ever picked me, Bucky. I'm never gonna let you down." Steve paused, then stared right into Bucky's eyes. "Never."

That was the second time Buck could see the kid was a little touched. What kind of person talked to Bucky like they were swearing on a Bible? But Bucky found himself reaching out to Steve, and the two boys hugged while the last few songs played out. (Steve was even littler than Bucky'd thought—he could feel the bumps between Steve's bones. They really needed to start getting cake, or... or something.)

"I'll probably let you down," Bucky whispered, "but I won't mean to, Steve. I won't ever mean to."

They ended up taking a nap right there on the couch tangled up like two puppies while the radio went from after-school to soap to news. Bucky woke up at the click of the door, though, and he looked up in time to see a soft, strange smile on his dad's face. His old man brought up a finger to cover his lips, then turned the radio down a little. He walked over, tousled Bucky's hair, and nodded at Steve.

"New friend?"

Bucky nodded, then whispered, "He and his mom are next door."

"Sarah?" Bucky shrugged, which made his dad smile. "Sorry, Mrs. Rogers?"

"Yeah!"

"So much for whispering." Steve was just sitting up when he seemed to spot Mr. Barnes for the first time. He blinked, then tried to push himself up, straighten his shirt, and hold out his hand at the same time.

When Mr. Barnes gravely took Steve's hand into his own to shake it, Steve blushed and said, "I—sir? Um, my name is Steven Rogers, and—"

"And Buck's supposed to be introducing us, isn't he?"

Bucky rolled his eyes dramatically, then stood and gestured hugely at his dad. "Father! Please, meet Steven Grant Rogers." With that, he took his dad's hand and waved it around in front of Steve, who was a little too shocked to laugh. "Steven, Steven, Stevie, Steve, please, if you would, if you could, it would just be an honor, really," (here he took Steve's hand and laid it on top of his dad's) "if you would make the acquaintance of my old man, Staff Sergeant Frank Barnes, who isn't 'sir,' you see, because he works for a living, and—"

He stopped with a squeal when his dad picked him up and threw him over his shoulder. Frank put a hand on Steve's shoulder and said, "Are you boys hungry?"

**Author's Note:**

> I've been sitting on this ficlet for a long time. I might add to the 1927 chapter, but I wanted to go ahead and post it to get the ball rolling. The relationship and content warning tags will be added as the fic expands.


End file.
